How often should I practice yoga to lose weight?

During the time I have been with the blog and also in my yoga classes in Denia, there are many times when I have been asked this question or some related to practicing yoga to lose weight. Some time ago I wrote this article with 8 ways in which yoga can help you lose weight. Today I will answer the question in a different way.

The reason why you get to be overweight, or simply weigh more than what you would like, can be many. As you can see in the photo I was not overweight, but I had gained about 7kg more than I had before.

How did I do it? Simple: eating a lot.

It happened in the first year that I arrived in Spain from Cuba. I could hardly believe that I could eat all the ice cream I wanted! After taking years to queue for 2 and 3 hours at the Coppelia (an ice cream parlor in the center of Havana that occupies a full block) for when it was my turn to enjoy that precious and scarce dish, I found it hard to believe that now I just had to go to the market and buy it ..


Over time I became aware that I had eaten enough and that I was noticing. Not only in the body that began to leave the odd michelin, but also that I had less capacity for breathing, for resistance and that I quickly tired of walking.

THE STRUGGLE OF CALORIES

So a year after eating all the ice cream I wanted, I decided to put a stop to that. That's when the "calorie struggle" began. Not that he fought one calorie against the other, no. It was me who decided that the best way was to fight: Mind vs. Calories. So I took the arms (the shoes and even the skates) and I got up from the computer where I spent many hours sitting and went running.


You can imagine that I could not give a return to the park that was closest. But I was happy because I had taken the first step. The second was to start eating less.
So, little by little, I began to remove from my meals everything that would involve a lot of calories and that's how I also made the precious delicacy disappear from my diet (ice cream, in case you do not remember).

It was a fight against myself. And yes, I lost weight. But god, how much suffering!

It was not until a few years later that I opted to draw a white flag and surrender completely. Yoga had come to my life. It was not just the time I spent when I was on the mat, but every step I took (and I give), I could see the effects and consequences of regular and conscious practice. Then I realized that the road was not the fight (I would have been fighting all my life). It was then that peace came ...

How did I do it? Without looking for it, it was something that simply came with the practice of full consciousness that meditation gave me, the physical practice of yoga and proper nourishment.

Looking a little back and with the objective that my experience will help you on your way, I summarize in 3 fundamental steps how yoga helped me to have the weight I wanted and much more.

1. CONSCIOUSNESS

The first step that I realized was that it worked to lose weight or maintain an adequate weight without fighting, and that yoga helps me 100%, is full consciousness. The first thing was to make me aware that I was leading a life that was not healthy. But I went further. I saw it, I felt it and I believed it from the deepest part of my being. When that happens there is a total transformation. You do not go back to eating a hamburger with chips, coke and ice cream for dessert with the same taste as before. There is a before and an after when you become real aware of things. But I did not impose anything. It emerged as awareness of the regular practice of mindfulness towards myself.

Through yoga I managed to listen to my body better and I learned to relate to him differently. When I started paying more attention to what I ate, my decisions about what to eat became healthier.
Little by little I was discovering what food made my digestion heavy (which are the most processed dishes), and I started looking for recipes and different foods, some that I did not even know existed before.

In this inner focus that has given me the practice of yoga has also helped me to eat when I am really physically hungry (and not mentally hungry), allowing me to also realize when I am already full and I can stop eating.

As I got deeper into the practice I observed a transformation at a physical, mental and emotional level, where there was less influence of external conditioning and I was focusing more on my own values ​​and internal decisions.

I'll give you an example: Imagine you go to a restaurant to eat with your co-workers. There is no harmony between So you choose to eat fast to leave soon. You are also a little stressed thinking about everything that you have left to do. So you ask for the usual, without thinking how healthy or can not be, you end soon and leave.

Has something similar happened to you? At one time in my life this was part of my day to day. But little by little I was observing that I was more aware and attentive when it came to eating: what I eat, how I eat it and even who I eat with. These are very important aspects to always keep in mind. They worked very well for me.

Now I prepare my own food with fresh food and, if possible, organic. When I go to a restaurant I do not "jump the norm" because it is not a norm, it is what I want. Usually and anywhere, as slow, aware of every bite that comes into my mouth, enjoying the food I made or that they made me, surely with a lot of love. And about the company, because now the people around me are wonderful and eating with them is a joy. The rest was left on the road.

Remember: Full awareness at every moment.

2. ADEQUATE FOOD

"The food that lengthens the duration of life and vitality, purity and virtue, strength, health, delight and happiness, tasty and unctuous, substantial and delicious, is loved by good and virtuous people (sattvic ) "

At this point about feeding, I leave you some advice from Swami Sivananda for an adequate diet. It's a good summary of what I want to convey to you:

- Eat at fixed hours. If you do not feel hungry at lunch, fast until the next meal.
- Cook only the amount you are going to eat. Overheated food has very little vital energy.
- Take raw vegetables at least once a day. This prevents the blood from becoming too acidic.
- Eat slowly and enjoy the food. Chew every bite well. Digestion begins in the mouth.
- Take only 4 or 5 varieties of food in each meal. It is difficult to digest very complex combinations.
- Try not to eat between meals.
- Do not overload your stomach. Fill half with solid foods and a quarter with liquids. The remaining room must remain empty for the natural development of gases.
- Avoid talking about problems or negative thoughts while you eat. Do not eat when you're angry. The toxins are secreted through the glands when you are angry and are released into the bloodstream. Rest for a while until the mind calms down and then take your food.
- Try to fast once a week. Fasting eliminates toxins, regenerates bodily functions and provides rest to organs.
- Eat to live, do not live to eat.

3. PHYSICAL PRACTICE

There is something very logical about what I also became conscious one day: to lose weight or maintain an adequate weight and good health, I had to eat less and move more. In my hands was the decision how to do it.

As I told you at the beginning, my first steps were to go running. Nowadays I can not do it even if I chose it, because my left knee got hurt and now after 15 minutes of soft trotting it starts to suffer. Then I continued with body toning, spining, etc. Even within yoga itself, there are different styles that I tried in those that burn more calories than in others such as Ashtanga Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga or Bikram Yoga (the latter is practiced in a room at 40 degrees of temperature).

At this point, I want to make a small stop and return to the question that inspired me to write this article.

HOW OFTEN DO I HAVE TO PRACTICE YOGA TO LOSE WEIGHT?

THE HOUR OF THE WHY

Now I continue with my experience. One day I asked myself why I wanted to lose weight or keep what I thought was right. The answer came alone, my ego gave it to me. He wanted to see me well and to see me well. Oh, yes, I also wanted to feel healthy. But to reach that desired health I realized that physical practice was not enough. I needed a balance between mindfulness, conscious movement of the body, proper nourishment and peace in being.
The part of the ego response of seeing me well sometimes disappears. Mainly in those moments when I connect with my higher self I realize that inevitably the body ages (if you do not believe it look at your parents or your grandparents, they were also young).

We are not our body. When I do not identify with him, peace increases.

Little by little I felt that the body was only an instrument to reach deeper purposes and that to stay in its form, in its strength or flexibility was to stagnate me. Currently, physical practice helps me keep this vehicle that is the physical body healthy, "the temple where my being resides" and that fills me with joy. The weight is no longer my companion every morning. When I wake up, after physical practice, from a time of pranayama (breathing control technique) and meditation, the feeling is so full that I only have the option of continuing with what the day brings me with a smile on my face. the face and with great energy and serenity.

And you, why do you want to lose weight? Have you asked?

 BEFORE AND AFTER

As you can see, I also had "a before and after". It is a later that is not only physical and that is not static but with time it deepens, as I continue to travel on this path of peace and self-knowledge to the one who brings me yoga.

But I tell you something, heart. If you have come to this article you may want to lose weight with the practice of yoga. It is perfect that it is so and it is great that you have chosen yoga for your purpose. If you allow me a little advice: practice as much as you can. All the other benefits of the practice come in addition and also the awareness that there is something beyond.

So I congratulate you for your decision and I encourage you to step forward now.

If this article has inspired you, leave me a comment. And if you have experience with what I'm telling you here, please, tell me too!

A very big hug for you, that embraces every part of your being (including all the fat you have over) and that fills you with acceptance, understanding and compassion towards yourself.